1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an in-line roller skate.
2. Description of the Related Art
A known in-line roller skate customarily comprises a boot for accommodating a person's foot, a frame connected to the boot, and at least two wheels connected to the frame and having a mutual distance and intended for supporting the boot in skating action. A user, such as a sportsman, can skate with a pair of these in-line roller skates on a track such as a road surface. It may be desired to brake while the in-line roller skates are being used, for example because one comes near a road junction or because other road users are a hindrance to the free use of the road. Therefore, it is known that this in-line roller skate is equipped with brakes. A known brake comprises a brake pad linked to the boot, where the brake pad is forced against the track by tipping the tip of the boot upward. The track then exerts a braking force on the brake pad in a direction opposite to the skating direction and thus on the boot and thus on the user of the in-line roller skate. Not only is such a brake pad esthetically undesired, because of its customarily large size, but it also renders the in-line roller skate unstable during the braking operation, because the in-line roller skate is supported by only one wheel during the braking operation. This may lead to hazardous situations.
One embodiment of a prior art in-line roller skate described in EP 0 795 348 A1. The mounting bracket portion of this skate is movable relative to the boot and is connected by means of an axle to a mounting bracket portion fixedly attached to the boot. The axle is formed by a pin whose ends are slidable in slots which are provided in the two portions of the mounting bracket. The brake member in this known in-line roller skate is formed by two conical discs which are present on the pin. The slots are positioned at an angle relative to each other so that, when portions of the mounting bracket are turned relative to each other during the braking operation, the pin slides relative to the two portions and so doing pushes the conical discs against one or two of the wheels connected to the movable portion.
While this construction is advantageous compared to the state of the art described hereinbefore, this construction has disadvantages. For example, during the braking operation the wheels may get stuck between the conical discs. In addition, this construction is relatively complex. The two conical discs are connected to each other by means of an elastic intermediate member and slots are to be provided in the portions of the mounting bracket. In addition, the conical discs can be removed from the mounting bracket, be it with some difficulty, after which the in-line roller skate can be used for skating again. This is something young people like to do, but which is not a safe way.